


Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

by Suchsmallhands



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: A MERFOLK AU, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Blow Jobs, Drabble, Established Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, M/M, Merman Harry, Merman Louis, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Ocean, Ocean Sex, One Shot, Sea-longing, Tails, This is for ocean lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 07:25:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6185782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suchsmallhands/pseuds/Suchsmallhands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis convinces Harry to come to the warm waters at the surface, where light is not a rare occurrence and all is simple and not. </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>  <em>He saw Harry behind him, his wide eyes tentative and careful. The sunlight was weaker on him where he drifted cautiously farther from the surface. The land curved in a steep slope towards the depths from whence they'd come, leading into the colder waters of their home. Louis, however, had a heart which pulled him into the rich newness of the world. A place like this.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback/comments are my favorite responses. :)

Louis slipped forward, closing his eyes and pulsing his tail in gentle curls, propelling himself onward. Behind his closed eyelids, the sunlight glared reddish white. It had been months since he'd come this close to the light and the sensation of sunlight on his eyes was welcomed and mildly forgotten. The water was warm, as if the sunlight permeated the water and impregnated her surface with it's particles of energy. It seemed like it did, Louis wondered, as he opened his eyes to the scene before him.  
He looked at the surface, the water rugged and licked with small waves. The sunlight that gleamed down from the other side, the other world, clashed onto the water. Once it hit the glassy surface, Louis watched the way it sunk with it's golden slides into the skin of the Great Water. He watched it slide through the water, somehow as fast as the swordfish and the dolphins and the great whales that Louis had played with and chased through the tepid surface waters before, and yet so slow he thought he could watch it sink down like a water logged feather, fallen from a bird of the other side.  
Louis' eyes were wide, chin tilted up in wonder to see the bright and colorful universe that resided near the surface. His own eyes were bright and blue, as if the Great Mother sea had given him the color of her surface waters in his eyes.  
Before him, Louis paused and watched the forests of seaweed and sea grass as they swayed and breathed in slow motion before him. Beams of light blinking through the rich green fronds.  
Louis saw no danger, heard no danger, and had never seen any of the floating lands that the creatures from the other side stood inside of. Louis had heard those stories. Of the other side and their floating lands, the creatures who cast nets down into the water and robbed their home of it's fruitfulness and it's free, bountiful animals. The elders told all the newly hatched young those stories. Louis didn't understand how the others could act in that way until he was taught the story of the Great Water, and learned of it's life giving motherhood. He learned that all things had come from the womb of her waters, that her depths had given life to the land. He thought that perhaps those from the other side were just trying to regain something, ravaging her in the process.  
A high, gentle chirp rang out through the water, clicking into Louis' thoughts. His eyes widened, turning his head. He stopped where he was, his fins rippling to hold himself in place.  
He saw Harry behind him, his wide eyes tentative and careful. The sunlight was weaker on him where he drifted cautiously farther from the surface. The land curved in a steep slope towards the depths from whence they'd come, leading into the colder waters of their home. Louis, however, had a heart which pulled him into the rich newness of the world. A place like this.  
Harry chirped again, his calls conveying his thoughts without words. Louis could feel his wariness, could feel the stillness in his muscles as he listened for danger. Louis turned his body towards him, warbling a high, gentle sound and waving for him to come.  
He shook his head and chirped thrice in quick succession, worry in his voice. Louis curled his tail and widened the fans, swimming down from the light and to him. Harry inched forward, eyes wide and receptive, eager to be returned to his touch.  
Louis took his hand, tugging. Harry's jaw ticked. His head lowered and he let himself be pulled forward behind the smaller boy. Louis knew he was afraid of this place, anyone was. A place unanimously agreed to be instinctually dangerous. All was known and safe in the depths, where the most danger was the occasional shark or squid.  
He pulled him forth, feeling his wide hand squeezing warmly as he led him towards the field of vegetation. Harry clicked a few sharp, sonorous echos and received empty water in return. No danger. This had his tense shoulders and tail relaxing. Louis reached out his hand and slid it into the thick tufts of sea grass, looking at Harry as he hovered to his side and reached out to touch as well.  
The fields were towered by protective sea weeds that reached far towards the surface, the soft sand at the bottom covered with thick grass. Louis pulled them forth and let go of his hand, twisting to shadow him from behind.  
He watched the bright sunlight and it's water patterns on Harry, patches of wavering shade sliding over his skin and breaking the warm sun. His dark hair flowed behind him, Louis' hand itching with the ghostly sensation of his thick hair sliding through his hand. He followed him as Harry explored more freely, twisting and curling through the forests of seaweed.  
Harry's deeper voice chimed as he paused and looked at him.  
_It's safe?_  
Louis smiled softly and tipped his head, his body turning on it's side as he glided around him.  
_You see as I see._  
Harry frowned, his tail unconsciously flicking to follow Louis as he drifted in front of him.  
Louis relented, _Yes, I think it's safe._  
Harry's worrying eyes turned to play and Louis spent time chasing him in tight spirals up the stalks of seaweed. He chittered and sang along with Harry's playful chirping, exchanging no words but calling happily to each other as they played through the warm waters.  
Louis' tale was not as strong as Harry's, could not carry him as quickly, although he was more agile. He chased until he was too tired to continue, stopping his flight. He panted, gills fluttering along his neck as he let himself sink slowly towards the grass. Harry turned tightly and hovered above his chest as he floated down, smiling at him. Louis giggled and reached upwards for him, meeting his hands as they floated lower. The sunlight from the surface was shining over the back of Harry's head where he was above him, his hair in a cloud. Louis' eyes saw the golden strands of hair and the way the sun made them a halo of yellow light.  
So rare a sight he could consume.  
His back lay down onto the soft, grassy floor of the weed forest. Little fish fluttered away from them from the grass. Harry placed an elbow in the grass next to his head and lay down over him, smiling kindly at him.  
_I want to stay here._ Louis' high pitched, sounds vibrated from his throat, his jaw opening slightly to make the sound. Harry nodded, blinking quietly and gazing around his features.  
_I can see you so clearly._ Louis' voice trilled gently, _All your body and movements._  
Harry smiled so widely that his dimples appeared, making Louis chuckle.  
_I can see you, too!_ He chirped, his voice deeper. Louis felt the way his stomach muscles moved when he spoke or wiggled, all of his body warmer and more sensitive. _I haven't seen you in the light for a year._  
Louis lifted a hand and placed it at Harry's strong shoulders, flexing his fingers in his hair as it waved against his palm.  
_Have I changed?_  
_Your face has changed... and so has your body._ His tone became thoughtful and Louis prospered on this moment of reprieve from the darkness, alone with him. He thrived on this moment that he knew would not last. He had been waiting to bring him up here where he could see every thing he did. Could see all movements, instead of snippets and shapes from his echoing clicks. He had felt the way Harry's muscles moved in his hands, languidly, and now he saw the way it looked once more.  
He had been to the light surface alone and with friends many times, Harry always worrying for him and circling him urgently when he returned safely.  
This, however, was Louis' happy place. Up here, alone with him.  
_Have I changed?_ Harry asked.  
_Your hair has grown so much._ Louis smiled, making him laugh.  
_It's been so long since I've seen you like this._ Harry murmured.  
_Have you forgotten anything?_ His smile simmered away.  
_Not a single thing._  
Louis' half living smile faded as well, laying in the quiet as they looked at each other. The water was quiet, yet so much more deafening than it was in the depths. Here he could here the grass and the weeds sliding against another, could hear the water whispering and sighing through them, vast and comforting. If he listened hard, he could even hear the breeze pushing at the waves far above their heads.  
_Your eyes are green._ Louis murmured. Harry's eyes widened as he remembered. It had been one of the things Louis had told him when he'd first seen him in the light, and he had forgotten it at times.  
_Yours are blue._ He whispered, his melodic voice quiet so that if anyone were listening it was only Louis who could hear. _Blue like the sea herself._  
Louis' tale curled so that it tightened around Harry's, constricting and braiding them together in the grass. It felt lovely, the warmth of the sun on the great muscle of Harry's tail. Louis could feel it in his, and knew it's strength. He liked the way it lay passively in his hold, knowing that it would squeeze and curl around his as well and that it would be so strong his whole body would become soft in his arms.  
_You're pretty, Lou._ Harry smiled softly, bowing his head so that their foreheads touched, noses just brushing. _I want to keep you close._  
Louis didn't want to be those sappy romantics, but the affection in his voice coupled with the beauty on top of him was compelling.  
_You look like the sea, Hazza._ He smiled, petting his wild hair in his hand. _So beautiful... Can't even explain it._ Harry lay more heavily against him, their chests meeting in the warmth, tails nestled so firmly together in the bed of grass as their stomachs and ribs breathed together.  
Louis thought about him. He thought about bedding with him here and then making the return journey down into the depths and towards their home once more, down to their community again. He thought about tying Harry's arms behind his back and holding him down in their cave, exploring things together. He thought about hunting with their friends. He thought about Harry's gentle movements when he swam to the place where the couples nested with their eggs, about how softly Harry's cooing voice became when he was near the bundles of unborn children.  
He thought about staying with him.  
For now, Harry's strong, beautiful body was pressing around his. He could feel the tip of Harry's limp tail in his, twitching and fluttering.  
Louis lifted his chin and touched their lips together, feeling them meet in the water. He kissed softly and eventually met with tongue as he sucked and nipped at his mouth. Harry's tail didn't stay passively in his, beginning to shift it's great muscle and soon taking hold of Louis', untangling and constricting like one of the Galapagos sea snakes around his. Louis kissed him harder, his breath becoming flighty as his tail lost to the strength of Harry's mighty grip. He was arching against him and sighing deeply, hands gripping at his shoulders and around his bicep.  
He felt safe here, and with that notion he moaned into his mouth. Harry's muscles reacted to his lower voice, a sound unlike their high communications.  
Harry lifted off of his chest, releasing his tail and sliding down his body so that his shoulders were at his hips. Louis lifted his head, chest rising and falling with virile liveliness, fragile and pleasing to the eye.  
Harry gripped his hips with his hands, nosing along the sheath of his length. Louis' body became tense, eyes squeezing shut, head still raised. Harry kissed and licked along the small mound, coaxing for him to arise. The sheath where his cock stayed was normally very unnoticeable, now it was inflamed with arousal, bursting to release him.  
Louis bit the inside of his mouth and held his breath as Harry brought him out of his sheath. Harry' eyes flickered with pleasure and he kissed along the length, moving to the tip and licking. Louis grit his teeth and he took him in his mouth, sliding down and sucking tightly so that he could feel his tongue and mouth sucking.  
Louis' tail gripped around Harry's shoulders and neck, constricting so that Harry was wrapped up in the curl of his fins and muscles. Harry relented to it with pleasure, fingers feathering along his hips affectionately. Louis panted feverishly, body curling to the side. Harry's head and shoulders lay agreeably in his tail, being tilted along with him. His hair moved around in the warm, temperate and amiable current. Louis' eyes fluttered open to watch as Harry's head lay gripped tightly in his tail, mouth still sucking pleasurably at his cock.  
Louis' voice trembled and pitched from his throat as he lay his head back and his hands found their way rather unforgiving into his hair.  
Louis didn't want to finish this way, with his heart so far away from Harry's chest, but his thoughts had no place to take hold. His chest worked helplessly as he panted and his voice simpered and sounded into the sunlight.  
He lay panting and without mind when Harry's mouth left him, disturbing from his pleasure. He lifted his head and saw him, still inside the grip of his tail with his head lifted with effort away from his penis. He wriggled a bit and gained Louis' attention, his tail releasing him. The burn of his muscles was a small notice, uncurling from his body, Harry's hair following the ends of his fins as they pulled away.  
Harry stayed close to him and they orbited each other until Louis was sucking at Harry, already free from his sheath. Louis' muscles were wrought and weak, something he sensed Harry was aware of. He lay on his tail and sucked him off slowly, feeling the spread of his tail fins sliding over him affectionately.  
He kept his eyes open because he didn't think he could allow himself to miss any more of his beauty while they were here in the light of the sun.  
Harry used his hands to pull Louis gently upwards and off of his penis, guiding him onto himself. Louis followed him, his tail lending no help aside from a few mindless wriggles. Harry brought him onto his chest and wrapped him in his tail, anchoring him and holding him soundly. Louis was linked safely into him, Harry's arms wrapped around him and his tail twined so tightly with his that if a current lifted them from the grass, or a net drug them from the water, or a predator found them, that they'd have to be lost from providence together and inalienable.  
Louis' mind was pliable and took up a passivity that his active personality contrasted, leaving him feeling safe and warm and vulnerable in Harry's hands. He wrapped his arms around Harry's neck, the thick grass obscuring his view of anything else and cradling them.  
Harry kept them locked together, a place that Louis felt safe and indivisible; as this was them, and they stretched on for years and for leagues.  
Harry's hand guided one of his away from it's place around his neck and between them, curling both of their hands around both of their shafts and bringing them to finish together.  
Louis would lay there in the grove of the weeds, tail melded to his, eyes open but mind asleep as the benign pulse of the current flowed near them. He'd lay there and surrender to the heaviness of his eyes, letting them fall shut so that the light could burn rose white against his eyelids. Then he'd open them again because he still wanted to see his friend.  
He'd let his heart be cradled by the mothering sea and her care as she provided them with this pause in the universe where they could cry together and sync their heartbeats into tandem. Or where he could just lay without any such contemplative perception. Where the sunlight was simply warm. And the grass was simply soft.  
And Harry was simply Harry.  
Where there returned some internal clash between studying adoration for all love and existence, and uninvolved, transparent simplicity.  
Louis let this clash take a back burner as he regained his steady heartbeat and lay with Harry, watching the light move on his skin. And Harry watched him.  
Harry would raise them from the meadow and caringly swim close to Louis, returning them to the safest places in the sea.


End file.
